FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to an intermetallic nickel-aluminum base alloy having a binary phase NiAl. The invention also relates to a material formed of the intermetallic nickel-aluminum base alloy for producing a gas turbine component or other articles.
Such an intermetallic nickel-aluminum base alloy is known from an article entitled "NiAl Alloys for High-Temperature Structural Applications" in the Journal of Metals, March 1991, pages 44 et seq.
A process is described in German Published, Prosecuted Patent Application 1 812 144 for producing a high-strength nickel-aluminum material having good oxidation resistance. In the process, nickel powder is mixed with aluminum powder, then pressed and then cold-formed so that a self-supporting and coherent shaped body is formed having a fibrous or laminar structure. The nickel content is at least 80% and that of the aluminum is at most 20%. The coherent shaped body is then successively hot-formed at respective elevated temperatures. Apart from a solid solution of the aluminum in the nickel, principally the compound NiAl is additionally formed in that case. That solid solution and the compound NiAl could be detected by X-ray analysis. The extent to which other compounds between nickel and aluminum can be achieved by the process cannot be learned from that published application.